Raven

she/they/he 21 Bi- ace Hindu (mumukshu ) Desi Queer

[comicallybored]

I aspire to be that academic person who disappears off the face of the internet

Their marker for being alive is a book/ publication

And they can only be reached via email.

I'm one inconvenience away from being this level of zen 💅

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Is that you in your pfp? It's very cute 🤌🏾✨🖤

Yessss

Hehe

Thank you

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Everytime I feel hopeless I read something by Jiddu Krishnamurti

And I feel like living again.

💖

[wedarkacademia]

There is hope in people, not in society, not in systems, but in you and me.

— Jiddu Krishnamurti

[fancyturtlementality]

The desi urge to dance when kajra re playsss😭😭😭🫶

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I am a changed person when "tujhse milna purani dilli me" part comes on.

That's it no one can stop the desi dancer in me.

[comicallybored]

I wish a lot more people ACTUALLY READ ABOUT RELIGIONS, their different teachings and ideas before opening their damn mouth.

Notice how i said religion? And not people. Ya condemn people, but if you condemn people only of one side and not of your own, who are spreading hate, then you're no better than the other side you claim to oppose. ( applies to both/ all sides) .

When it comes to religion, instead of wasting time on the internet arguing with faceless people, please read different aspects to all religions? Even the ones differing from your political views??

Because when you start to do that, you recognize that religions aren't good or bad in themselves, its what people interpret and practice it to be. Just because its your set of people ( some people not all) spreading hate, doesn't mean you stand complacent because you're getting protected. Stand against the hate mongers and take pride in your culture.

Taking pride in your religion / culture and calling out the ones spreading hate IS NOT MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE. IT SHOULD NOT BE. it just creates more polarization than what already exists. Painting everyone in the same brush serves no one.

And for heaven's sake read actual books and look at different perspectives while reading about history, religion, politics etc because the internet is an echo chamber which directs you to sources based on your clicks. The internet, while has been instrumental in making people appreciate their culture, IT IS NOT A PLACE TO LEARN ABOUT SUCH THINGS. IT IS A VERY DANGEROUS AND POLARIZING PLACE.

Differences in opinions always exist, because opinions come from interpretation of what is there. Criticism is valid, but blind hate disguised as criticism is not. You can have your opinions, but at least look at differing sides??

I'll always say this, if the love for your religion comes from a place of the hate of others, it's not love, it's bigotry. If everyone says " we won't compromise we won't do this", it just destroys our society and it's already happening. I sometimes feel like banging my head against against wall is better than seeing our society tread down this path of dangerous reactionary politics.

Which is why I've taken recourse to spirituality because its the only thing that I feel is worth pursuing. I cant change the world but at least I can change myself.

Peace.

Note : calling out aspects like sexism, homophobia, casteism, discrimination etc should be done. And appreciation of aspects like serving others, closeness to the god of belief, moral lessons should also be done!!

[comicallybored]

When lata di said

"Na hi janam mile toh accha hoga"

I felt that in every inch of my body

[comicallybored]

Life has been very

Hey PRABHU

Hey Hariramakrishna Jagannatham premanandi

Yeh kya hua

-ing recently

[comicallybored]

On Suffering

Everytime I step out of my house, I'm reminded of Suffering. Pain that engulfs all humans, which doesn't discriminate on on the color of your skin, your beliefs, your religion. A Suffering that's universal.

Everytime I see a family outside, happily eating amongst themselves, I don't see happiness, I see the suffering in their tired eyes. I see a painful wail masked beneath a beautiful smile. I wonder how they'd have dealt with the death of a loved one, how they'd still be feeling and grieving the absence of someone who was otherwise present with them.

Everytime I see someone returning from their work, be it a corporate worker or a balloon seller, I see the pain of being tired, tired of life and it's silly, strange ways.

Everytime I see members of the labor class, sitting amongst themselves and eating, I dont see joy, I try to, but I don't. I see pain, suffering, physical and mental exhaustion that I perhaps won't ever understand but I can empathize with.

I now went out to buy groceries and restock our tea leaves (चाय पत्ति), the street doggo I've named FIRDAUS, follows me everywhere i go, I give him his daily dose of biscuits and milk, and loads of pets, and he also squeaks like a little mouse. But behind his wagging tail, I see a soul who has suffered, who has been wronged, who has seen loss and grief, and I wish I had the means to communicate with him on our griefs, on our sufferings, but I wouldn't be able to.

I come home and have a breakdown, because I can't ever unsee suffering from people's eyes, even the ones I passionately hate. Perhaps that's why I'm a bit gentle with people and offer a shoulder to cry on.

I sometimes feel that my soul has seen enough suffering, I won't be able to handle anymore after this lifetime. This is what drew me to be a mumukshu, a seeker of moksha, because I for one am tired of living and re living. I want to be liberated by both life and death, and more so by knowledge of the true meaning of life.

I was once afraid of dying, but now I look forward to it, I might sound like a cynic, but I simply cannot handle the suffer in this सफर.

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Do you ever read the happenings and reactions of the world and country around you, and feel like you should have never been born?

I can't handle so much of bloodshed, destruction, and hatred perpetrated in the name of faith literally everywhere.

I deadass became emotional today while arguing with my father about how extremism on both sides is putting the country into shambles and reactionary following of ideologies is going to be the death of my beautiful country.

Everytime I see one of my friends get carried away into extreme left or extreme right, because their minds lack reasoning and freedom of thought, I feel like banging my Hwa against a wall till my soul leaves my body because even that is more feasible than arguing with these brain dead morons.

What about people like me who just want peace and access to knowledge, uncorrupted and unpolluted by those with ulterior motives, where do we go? Do we just like ascend to heavens?

[comicallybored]

Everytime I visit any historical ruins (there are plenty for someone living in दिल्ली)

I'm somehow reminded of the impermanence of life.

The words "जीवन का एक ही सत्य म्रत्यु है" just make so much sense.

I begin to go down a rabbithole of how things would've been in the past when those buildings were getting made. When each person wanted something grander to be built for their rememberance (some still stand today) yet when they died, they had no one but themselves. Yet when they were making peace with death, which was standing at their doorstep, everyone begged for forgiveness, for one more day, for one more moment to be a changed person.

As a Hindu, I really like how we deal with the concept of death. As someone who studies Advaita philosophy, I love how it approaches death not as this giant entity to be scared of, but as something to just accept as a part of the journey of your eternal soul.

As someone who has dealt with the death of her grandmother and is seeing her ailing, ageing grandparents everyday, it gives me a certain solace to know that she is safe out there, that she is not her body, no body is their physical bodies but their आत्मन which is eternal, forever living. I find solace in knowing that by my actions, my words and my values I can keep her spirit alive.

When we were performing the rituals for her in the body form, I couldn't help but notice how each of them teaches a different value.

When we bathed her for the final time, I was taught the value of having your families as साथि to help you complete your journey.

When we lit the fire that would follow her till the crematorium, it reminded me how the true purpose in life is to follow the flame of knowledge. None of your material possessions follow you, but only the eternal flame of knowledge.

When we performed her 13th day pooja, and the days leading up to it, where we fed her soul with भोजन, it reminded me of how the families are gradually taught to let go of the mortal and remember their values through good deeds and actions (like feeding the needy, donating the clothes to people who are homeless).

When I saw my father go to the crematorium, as a dutiful son in law, despite his disagreements with my mother on various issues, I was taught what co existence means.

When all us cousins flew in from different parts of the country, it taught my love. Love, which is unconditional, which transcends mortal statuses. I had my exam in 2 days, my cousin had her interview the next day, my other cousin brother had his book launch scheduled while my eldest sister had just gotten engaged.

So when I see people fight and wreck havoc due to ideological differences and political gains, I feel like reminding them of the ONLY TRUTH THAT IS PERHAPS नित्य WHICH IS म्रत्यु. I urge them to go to Benaras/काशी, where you see what truly matters in life is - Love and the eternal quest of knowledge.

P.s. if anyone belongs to any other religion please please tell me how you all deal with death, the concept of death and the ritualistic significance. I would really really love to know.

[bhairavirasingh]

Now that Ram Mandir has been opened can I honestly share what I feel? No, I'm not on the side of the Hindutva nor am I on the leftists I just want to take a neutral stand here.

To everyone saying it's just a political agenda and Modi is using Ram mandir to appease the Hindu vote bank. Yes, and? I think we all (even the Hindus) know what game he's playing here. My house was conflicted yesterday. My mother and nani (grandma) were sobbing on finally getting Ram lalla's darshan yesterday on TV, my nanu (grandpa) wasn't supporting any of it. And I was torn. Torn between celebrating a historic moment and rationalizing whether it even deserved to be celebrated. Would Ram ji have wanted this? He would've wanted us to celebrate yes but not at the cost of harming others. I condemn the acts of discrimination against the minor sects of society, everyone who's got to suffer because of this. In Mahabharata too, the minority (Pandavas) had to go through hell but they emerged victorious in the end coz they were right. However, I'd also like to state that it's not that simple here. People calling out Islamophobia, I'm with you. People calling out Hinduphobia, I'm ALSO with you. All lives matter no matter if they are Hindu or Muslim or Christian or Palestinian. "Hinduphobia doesn't exist" It does. Ofc not at the scale of the terrifying Islamophobia in India but it does. In other Islamic etc countries, it does. Just like how Islamophobia exists in countries where Islam folk are in minority. But does that give Hindus a license to endorse and impose themselves any more than the colonizers and invaders did? No.

Yk I've grown up in my remote, countryside hometown where they play azaan in mosques every day morning and evening and kid me since then became so used to it that it would feel like something is missing if I'd not hear it in the background somewhere while swinging around near the trees or while just walking on the terrace and watching the distant sunset. I'm a Hindu but well, that's just personal nostalgia.

Not all muslims are terrorists. Not all Hindus are fascists. But for those who are, I'd let Karma take care of you all.

I stand with humanity.

Jai Shri Ram 🙏

Allahu Akbar 🙏

[akindplace]

We need to stop romanticizing exhaustion and burn-out. Society glamorizes working to the point your body gives up. Working yourself until you become sick from it should not be a sign of "a good, committed worker", but a sign of someone who cared too much about everything and everyone but never cared enough about themselves. It's not up to society to make being exhausted as something romantic, because it is in fact a tragedy to lose your health when you aren't able to care for you because you are forced to work more than humanly possible. It's up to society to change the way we attribute worth to people, and to do so based on the fact that we are all human and inherently valuable, that we were born as valuable people, instead of basing people's worth on how much we can work and our productivity levels, and how far we can push ourselves into our jobs.

[comicallybored]

FESTIVE VIBES

It's the

LEHENGA. DANDIYA NIGHTS. GETTING READH WITH BOLLYWOOD SONGS. TAKING OUT LIGHTS. FOOD STALLS. CATCHING UP WITH FRIENDS AND ROAMING THE LOCALITY. PANDAL HOPPING. GOL GAPPAS. MOMOS STALLS. TERRACE NIGHTS WITH BOLLYWOOD BANGERS. SAREES. KAJAL. JHUMKAS. FAMILY GET TOGETHERS. GOLU. MITHAI BOXES. COLD NIP IN THE AIR. PURI HALWA. NEW KURTAS. DAILY VISITS TO THE TEMPLE-

Time of the year.

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I know this might sound cheesy

But heartstopper has resonated with me more than any other show or movie.

Especially that scene where Nick gets visions of people being bi-phobic, I can't put into words how much I related to that. ( for context- I came out 4 years ago during final year of my high-school, and those were the exact thoughts I had, the feeling of being a heathen in your own community?)

I'm so glad we finally got a show which doesn't pressure us to come out and just be true to ourselves. 💖💙💜

[linghxr]

Language Resources Masterpost

Today I am sharing with you guys all my collection of language textbook pdfs :D They are mostly for Russian and Mandarin, but I have a few Korean resources too. Please note that I have not personally used all of these books, so I cannot vouch for their quality. If any of the links are broken, please let me know! All links are to dropbox files.

Mandarin

A Kaleidoscope of China (advanced)

A New China (intermediate)

All Things Considered (advanced)

Anything Goes (advanced)

Basic Chinese (workbook)

Chinese: A Comprehensive Grammar (grammar)

Chinese: An Essential Grammar (grammar)

Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar (grammar)

Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar (workbook)

Reading to Write: An Advanced Textbook of Chinese (advanced)

Schaum’s Outlines: Chinese Grammar (grammar)

The Routledge Advanced Chinese Multimedia Course (advanced)

The Routledge Course in Chinese Media Literacy (advanced)

Russian

Ultimate Russian (advanced)

Using Russian: A Guide to Contemporary Usage

A Comprehensive Russian Grammar (grammar)

A Russian Grammar Workbook (workbook)

Colloquial Russian 2 (intermediate)

Russian Verbal Prefixes (grammar)

Glossika Guide to Russian Pronunciation and Grammar

Intermediate Russian: A Grammar and Workbook (intermediate)

An Advanced Russian Tabloid Reader (advanced)

A Living Russian Grammar (grammar)

Basic Russian: A Grammar and Workbook (beginner）

Russian in Exercises (beginner)

Russian Verbs of Motion

Using Russian Vocabulary (vocab)

The Big Silver Book of Russian Verbs (vocab)

Live From Russia Stage 1 Volume 1 (beginner)

Live From Russia Stage 1 Volume 2 (beginner)

Korean

Basic Korean: A Grammar and Workbook (beginner)

Intermediate Korean: A Grammar and Workbook (intermediate)

Korean: A Comprehensive Grammar (grammar)

Korean Grammar in Use (beginner)

[greenstudies]

My ‘To read’ book list

Everyone seemed to like my ‘to watch’ list of movies so I decided to share my list of books I want to read!

📚 Fantasy

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child J. K. Rowling

Eon: Dragoneye Reborn Alison Goodman

Eona: The Last Dragoneye Alison Goodman

The Unbound Victoria Schwab

The Diabolic S. J. Kincaid

Kaziměsti Martin Bečan 

Ink Alice Broadway  7/10

Strange the Dreamer Laini Taylor

The Ruins of Gorlan John Flanagan  8/10

The Burning Bridge John Flanagan  8/10

The Icebound Land John Flanagan

Game of Thrones George R. R. Martin

📚 Sci-Fi

Rebel Amy Tintera

Annihilation Jeff VanderMeer

Rebels of Eternity Gerd Ruebenstrunk

Genius: The Game Leopoldo Gout

The Power Naomi Alderman

Metro 2033 Dmitry Glukhovsky

📚 Biography

You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost) Felicia Day

The Wisdom of Wolves Elli H. Radinger  7/10

Talking as Fast as I can Lauren Graham

📚 Thriller

The Girl on the Train Paula Hawkins  8/10

📚 Realistic fiction

Turtles All the Way Down John Green

The Mother Karel Čapek

Great Gatsby Francis Scott Fitzgerald

📚 Personal Growth

You are a Badass Jen Sincero

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck Mark Manson

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Marie Kondo

📚 From my school obligatory list of literature

If the Impressionists Had Been Dentists Woody Allen  8/10

1984 George Orwell  9/10

Animal Farm George Orwell  9/10

Neverwhere Neil Gaiman  9/10

Metamorphosis Franz Kafka  6/10

The Pied Piper Victor Dyk  8/10

Three Comrades Erich Maria Remarque  8/10

R.U.R Karel Čapek

Nikola the Outlaw Ivan Olbracht

The White Disease Karel Čapek  6/10

Saturnin Zdeněk Jirotka

[greenstudies]

Updated 17.02.2020